The National Transportation Safety Board issued their preliminary results yesterday for their investigation into the Northwest Airlines flight that overshot the Minneapolis airport by 150 miles last week, saying they believe the pilots were distracted while using personal laptops in the flight deck.

Delta and its Northwest operating subsidiary continue to openly and fully cooperate with the NTSB and FAA to complete the investigation. The pilots in command of Northwest Flight 188 remain suspended until the conclusion of the investigations into this incident.

Using laptops or engaging in activity unrelated to the pilots' command of the aircraft during flight is strictly against the airline's flight deck policies and violations of that policy will result in termination.

Delta CEO Richard Anderson said: "Nothing is more important to Delta than safety. We are going to continue to cooperate fully with the NTSB and the FAA in their investigations."

On behalf of Northwest and Delta Air Lines, I want to take this opportunity to offer you my immediate and sincere apology for the inconvenience and concern you were caused when Northwest Flight 188 was delayed on arrival at Minneapolis/St. Paul on Wednesday evening.

I certainly understand how unsettling this event may have been for you.